A Proposal for a Periodization and Analisis of the Actors involved in the Hydro-Social Cycle of the Atuel River, Mendoza-La Pampa (Argentina)

Abstract

This work offers an advanced report of findings of an investigation surrounding the conflict involving the Atuel River, which is located between the provinces of La Pampa and Mendoza, in Argentina. By relying on a qualitative methodology and a critical reading of the secondary sources collected so far, its objective is to develop a periodization of the hydro-social cycle of the Atuel River in order to study the changes experienced to date. Likewise, the concerns of the actors that participate and intervene in the conflict are identified and analyzed. As a result, four periods stretching over the past three centuries are identified throughout the study. In each of them, one sees the emergence of different actors who established and redefined, over time, power relations around access to water. These power relations are evident in the last period, in which new complexities appear, such as the promotion of extractive practices within the study area.